Developing my Philosophy of Gardening

Scientific Gardener with Purple Dragon Carrot

I have been reading a really good book recently called The Resilient Gardener. The author gives a good perspective on what gardening should be about, or at least gives a good perspective on the importance of gardening in the times in which we live. Here’s the quote: “What is critical isn’t ownership of land so much as the knowledge and skills to use it. When and if the time comes that people in your region need more local food production in order to survive, if you have the knowledge, seeds, and tools, people will make the land available. Up until then, you only need enough land to pay and learn on, and to produce what you care most about and what you most enjoy.” –The Resilient Gardner Food Production and Self-Reliance in Uncertain Times. by Carol Deppe. The reason I agree with this way of thinking because what matters more than anything else in gardening is having the knowledge and the seeds. Everything else can - and will often - change.

Hahms Gelbe Tomato

A Hahms Gelbe Tomato Bush 3" High with new Blossoms

What can I say concerning the Hahms Gelbe Tomato? Well – for one thing it’s small. Not only is this cultivar a determinate tomato plant (a shorter variety with tomatoes that usually mature at around the same time) - it is also a dwarf tomato variety. It grows to be about a foot tall at most. It fills up with blossoms, then yellow fruit that covers the plant. Resist the temptation to eat the bright yellow fruit! The bright yellow ones taste like unripe green tomatoes. Wait until they turn golden yellow/orange. Then the fruit is at its most delicious state. This is a great variety for indoors – as long as you have a windowsill or a plant light to use. For those living in Arizona – where the temps are too high or too low – this is a wonderful way to get your tomato fix without dealing with all the problems related to the fact that tomatoes don’t do too well in our climate. I have been giving them away as presents to co-workers. There’s nothing like a tomato plant to improve relationships – especially in a region where most people have not tasted on-the-vine tomatoes in years.




A Hahms Gelbe Tomato Bush with Yellow Globes





These were unripe- It's worth it to wait till they turn darker!

 


Hahms Gelbe do well indoors with lots of light




Another Picture just for Fun



Tromboncino – Not perfect, but very good

I enjoy growing butternut squash for the dual purpose of being able to use them as both a winter squash and as a summer squash. Often, during the summer, we will go north for a little while to come home on a day when we just can’t get to shopping. This is when I enjoy going out to the garden and getting the family something to eat. In order to do this I need to know that I can use my food whenever I am ready for it. That is where butternut squash varieties excel – specifically Tromboncino.



The Tromboncino keeps a very nice flesh texture throughout its growth from a small summer squash to a very long winter squash. It is fun to see how long it will become and to see how it will curve before it hardens up. Being a butternut variety the plant vigor and disease resistance are good with this variety - especially with reguards to the Squash Vine Borer. However, if you have any kind of sap-sucking creature in your yard, it may make it difficult for the female flowers to set fruit. Apparently the bugs like it as much as people do. Additionally, if the fruit sets under direct sun while the temperature is very high it may have difficulty setting before the sun shrivels the blossom. Other than that it is an all-around good variety and top rated among many gardeners.

A winter Tromboncino butternut squash is very tasty

As an additional note, since this is an Italian variety, the Italians have taken the growing of their squash to a science. Here is a very good Italian webpage with very helpful information (should you want to translate it) about the Tromboncino squash.



Female Tromboncino Squash Blossom

Cooking Chinese Long or Asparagus Beans



Chinese Long Beans on a Platter



You may not mind the “overcooked asparagus” taste produced while steaming them or the hard slippery texture of the skins when sautéing, but as for me I prefer a taste similar to the New England varieties of green beans bought from the store. In order to achieve this palatable taste and texture you must blanch the beans. To do so, start with a big pot of water with the water boiling. Pour in a generous helping of salt (at least ¼ cup per gallon). Once the salt has dissolved in the water, dump the uncut beans in the water and cover for 5 minutes. No more, no less. They should now be very dark green and tender, but not too soft. Use a colander to drain saltwater brine from the beans and immediately rinse with cold water or soak in ice water until beans return to room temperature. Then cut the beans. You can then add some butter in a pan and stir them around until the butter melts or you can just freeze them in bags for later use.

Chinese Long Beans



Chinese Long Beans are very prolific

There are quite a few beans that can really take the heat, but there are not a whole lot that can take the heat, are not eaten by lace bugs, and are very disease resistant. Enter the Chinese Long Bean, or Asparagus Bean. This native of Asia is resistant to most anything thrown at it. There do seem to be some forms of rust it can contract and the same weevil that bores through mesquite pods will also attack these beans. Otherwise you are looking at a constant supply of beans able to pump out enough beans to feed 1 person on 2-3 feet of 6’ tall bean plants. Though this bean can cross-pollinate with the black-eyed pea, or cowpea, the method of pollination I see most is from ants visiting the flowers. The beans secrete a nectar that attracts the ants who either protect the beans, pollinate the beans or both. You can expect to have to shake off a couple ants during bean harvest. Expect to have to harvest every 2-3 days. I judge when I need to harvest based on the thickness of the bean. About the thickness of a #2 pencil is just right. In short, the asparagus bean is a disease resistant and heat loving bean that produces heavily, but requires some extra work in one specific area. This area is the most important part for those who grow for food– figuring out how to cook them! After several years of asking around and researching I finally figured out  - and it was well worth it!

Chinese Long Beans Take over even in 110 degree temperatures